Whānau Ora providers are gearing up for a winter wellness and vaccination programme targeting tamariki Māori.
It’s funded out of $50 million earmarked by Health Minister Shane Reti to respond to extremely low post-pandemic vaccine rates.
North Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency chair Merepeka Raukawa Tait says while the funding seems to run counter to attacks on the Māori Health Authority and targeted Māori programmes, it shows Dr Reti recognises the effectiveness of Māori providers in rolling out Covid vaccines.
A significant amount of dollars has gone into this and the minister isn’t going to be investing with a provider if he doesn’t think we can do the job so it’s a pat on the back for Whānau Ora but we’ve also got to do what we have to do and there’s no time to waste,” she says
Ms Rakawa-Tait says in places like south and west Auckland there are large numbers of Māori living in crowded houses, putting tamariki at risk of infections.
